


Paper Rings

by lieano



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Based on a Taylor Swift Song, Canon Compliant, Drunken Shenanigans, Getting Together, Kinda Fluffy, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mentions of canon character death, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-18 19:48:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20644682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lieano/pseuds/lieano
Summary: Owain lifted his hand, offering it up to scrutiny. The big gem in the center of his mother’s ring glinted again. As far as material objects went, it was the most beautiful thing Inigo had ever seen. The diamond on it was huge, its worth beyond price. It was held aloft by an intricately looping gold band crafted by a master jeweler that only royalty could afford. Of course a ring belonging to the exalt, however brief her reign, was exquisite.“With a ring like that,” Inigo went on, fixating on it. “You could marry any girl in the kingdom. No one would say no to something as shiny as that rock.”Owain smiled uncomfortably. Good thing Inigo was far too drunk to read the subtleties of expressions just then.“I wish I had a ring like that,” Inigo lamented.There was a short pause that almost caused Inigo to lose interest in the conversation, but then Owain mumbled, “I could give it to you.”





	Paper Rings

**Author's Note:**

> As soon as Taylor Swift's new album was released I KNEW I had to write a song for Paper Rings. It made me literally cry from how cute it was. Anyway, here it is, my Paper Rings inspired Owainigo falling in love oneshot. And that's all I have to say. I hope you like it. Enjoy~

I. Kiss you once 'cause I know you had a long night

With so few things left to discover in a world that had been used up and torn apart, the fact that they found a storehouse intact was nothing short of a miracle. And it was no ordinary storehouse. Barrels of wine and ale ran the length of underground caverns, sleeping soundly just a few feet underneath a world at war. Finally the drinks would serve their own purpose in war; digesting liquid into morale for a wandering band of soldiers who had little claim to the word ‘army’ anymore. 

Drinks were passed around. To kids, because that’s what they were. Children inheriting the damaged world their parents had left them and all the abandoned alcohol that entailed. The thirteen of them stood in a discordant circle and looked into their mugs. A bonfire crackled, the only noise under the sunset. They had been jubilant enough pouring the drinks, but the reality of what they were doing had fallen on them like a wet blanket. 

“Shouldn’t someone say something?” Inigo asked. “You know, like a… a toast?” 

He looked to Lucina. They all did. She was their leader, and would be even if she didn’t have the blood of the exalt running through her veins. She shuffled her feet nervously. Leader or no, she was a kid too, just like all of them. 

A hand fell on her shoulder. Owain smiled at her, then out at their group. He held his mug high and the rest of them followed suit. “Let us raise our glasses in exaltation of the great ones who blazed the trail we march. Until we can unlock that forbidden secret to turn back the hands of time, we will continue to run towards you on the horizon. Until we are conferred a miracle, we will battle righteously in defense of the world you entrusted to us. We know that you will guide us from on high, for you are the stars that stretch above and ahead of us, leading us onward.” 

They all looked to the skies then, just as the stars began to blink into view. 

“Tonight, in lieu of the funerals we do not have the means to observe, we will celebrate the lives you lived. May our existence shine with half as much bravery and strength as yours did!” 

Thirteen excited voices cried out huzzahs at once, lifted by Owain’s words. Just before his head tipped back to taste that unfamiliar sweet fire of wine, Inigo snuck one more glance at Owain. When his hand bounced in the air for the cheers, the light of the bonfire glinted off his ring finger. His mother’s ring. She had been gone only 24 hours, the most recent victim of the war. Yet here he was, smiling and speaking as if this wasn’t a eulogy. He was strong. Stronger than Inigo, who had already had more than a week of mourning and still felt the frequent sting of tears. 

With the awkward seal broken, a party erupted among the orphans. They drank, they sang, they danced under the full moon and watchful stars. At some point, Owain found himself a quiet place to sit and drown in the sky. Quiet, until Inigo found it as well and decided to drown in his drink alongside him. 

“It’s not fair,” Inigo said as he sidled up to Owain. 

Green eyes blinked out of their trance and turned on Inigo, anchoring into him after being adrift among the stars. Despite it, Owain did not miss an opportunity to join a conversation. “Cheer up, friend. Remember that life is a cycle. They died so that we might live. It is, arguably, the only fair thing in the world.” 

Inigo opened his mouth, realized Owain hadn’t responded the way he had expected, and closed it to start over. He was too drunk for this. “That’s not what I’m talking about.” 

“Oh?” 

“I was talking about your ring.” 

Owain lifted his hand, offering it up to scrutiny. The big gem in the center of his mother’s ring glinted again. As far as material objects went, it was the most beautiful thing Inigo had ever seen. The diamond on it was huge, its worth beyond price. It was held aloft by an intricately looping gold band crafted by a master jeweler that only royalty could afford. Of course a ring belonging to the exalt, however brief her reign, was exquisite. 

“With a ring like that,” Inigo went on, fixating on it. “You could marry any girl in the kingdom. No one would say no to something as shiny as that rock.” 

Owain smiled uncomfortably. Good thing Inigo was far too drunk to read the subtleties of expressions just then. 

“I wish I had a ring like that,” Inigo lamented. 

There was a short pause that almost caused Inigo to lose interest in the conversation, but then Owain mumbled, “I could give it to you.” 

Inigo’s eyes widened. “Really?” 

“Of course,” Owain said. “If it was you truly desire. Prove to me that you want it and it shall be yours.” 

Inigo pondered the proposition. Or, he pondered as much as he was able in his current state. Was it what he truly desired? It was not as if he was going to marry Owain, he just wanted to wield the power of that ring. Privilege, status, wealth. The ring symbolized a litany of qualities that eligible maidens looked for in a man. Qualities that Inigo innately lacked. It glinted off the light of the fire again. The glare caught in his eye, like an itch he knew he wouldn’t be able to scratch. 

“You want proof in exchange for the ring? Proof… Um… Oh, I know!” 

Inigo didn’t give Owain much warning, but at the time it seemed like a fine enough idea. He grabbed Owain’s floating hand in both of his to stabilize himself and pushed up on the balls of his feet so that he could reach Owain’s cheek with his lips. If Owain responded to the kiss, Inigo was oblivious to it. When he pulled away it was so that he could bark out an ugly drunk laugh. 

“A kiss for a ring,” he chuckled. “Isn’t that how it usually goes?” 

And that was the last coherent thought Inigo had that night. He flushed away the last of his intelligence with another swig of his wine. 

If Owain responded to his insane offer, Inigo was dumb to them. His next idea, if it could even be called that, was to bounce to his feet - without collecting the ring - and chase after a reluctant Severa. And he left Owain to stand there alone, staring at his ring and rubbing his cheek absently. 

II. Kiss you twice ‘cause it’s gonna be alright

“Should you be wasting valuable resources like this?” 

Owain looked up from his spot on the crate into where the sun had been a moment ago. Now Inigo stood there, his arms crossed like he was a stern judge of the law. 

“Greetings, Inigo of the Indigo Skies. You have arrived in the knick of time! I was just about to seek out a worthy opponent to partake in a friendly spar!” 

He brandished a folded paper sword on the last word. It was small, pinched between his thumb and forefinger. He had a dozen more like it piled beside him on the crate. The shreds of paper he had used to fold them were scattered around his feet. 

Inigo huffed, irritated. “So childish. We’re at war, Owain. We cannot be wasting useful supplies for your origami.” 

Owain did not look half as ashamed as Inigo had hoped. He smirked. “You’re just mad because Robin told you there was no more room in the budget for you to take random ladies out to tea.” 

A grunt escaped Inigo’s better judgement and he fell onto the crate beside Owain to put his head in his hands. “You’re damn right I’m mad about it. I have every right to be. Times are hard and fun is dead. No tea. No paper swords.” 

A brief silence fell between them as Inigo reflected on the death of his social life and Owain let him. When he felt sufficient mourning had been observed, he poked Inigo in the shoulder with the tip of his tiny paper sword. “We all deserve to relax once in a while.” 

“And you’re idea of relaxing is making tiny replicas of the same weapon you pick up every day?” Inigo’s voice was laced with poison. Owain seemed annoyingly unbothered by it. 

“I find sword training to be very therapeutic, yes. Paper swords allow me to indulge in my hobby of honing my techniques with much lower stakes. But this isn’t about me. It’s about you and you don’t like sword training, you like tea. How about we go to get some later? Together.” 

It had been some time since Lucina’s band of orphaned soldiers discovered the secret to time travel and had flung themselves recklessly into a world they had never lived in, one where their parents were alive and young and so was hope. 

They had gone their separate ways immediately, each of the thirteen eager to find their parents in their own ways. But Inigo found an unexpected treasure before he was reunited with his mother, Lucina, and Chrom’s army. A treasure deep inside his own heart. He had found that he really missed Owain. More than he had been prepared to. 

So perhaps that was the source of the brief, giddy feeling that fluttered through him. Going to tea with Owain? Like, in the way he often wished girls would humor him in doing? Or, no, probably just as friends. But still. He felt a pang in his chest among all the unwarranted giddiness. A flicker of skepticism. He latched onto it. 

“With what money?” he snapped, a little meaner than he meant. Owain visibly flinched. It stabbed at Inigo’s heart, but he tried not to let it show. He crossed his arms and turned up his nose, unable to stop the rolling tide of snark that it had begun. “Even if you did have a legitimate way of getting enough money to go to tea, why would you think going to tea with you would be my idea of relaxation?” 

Owain was stricken, it was clear. But he still managed to smile out of a corner of his mouth. His optimism was resilient, Inigo could not deny it. “Peace, friend. I meant nothing by it.” 

Inigo pushed air out of his nose, trying to calm down. But he was not about to apologize, so he grumbled, “I’m just saying that it wouldn’t kill you to think through things before you say them.” 

Finally, Owain’s smile faltered. He looked away and brushed his left hand through his hair awkwardly. “You used to be a lot nicer to me,” he mumbled. 

It was true, but that had been precrush. If Inigo was any level of nice to Owain now, just beyond common human decency, he feared that Owain would catch on. 

He was going to say something else unnecessarily rude and tone deaf, but then he was captivated by Owain’s hand. There was something missing. A glint he had grown accustomed to. 

“Hey,” he said before he could stop himself. “Where is your mother’s ring?” 

Owain’s hand fell out of his hair. He held it up for both of them to gawk at. His finger was, indeed, bare. 

“Ah, well. I wish there was a harrowing tale behind it but actually I… I sold it.” 

“What? Why?” Inigo hissed. His stomach dropped anxiously, as if it were his own mother’s ring now missing. Just the thought made his skin crawl. 

“To help with the war effort. I just had this huge piece of valuable jewelry doing nothing and I found a trader who was willing to exchange rations for it. It was my warrior’s duty to sell it.” 

“No, Owain.” Inigo reached into the air between them and took Owain’s hand in both of his own. A twisted, shocked expression spread across Owain’s face but Inigo was too busy looking at that blank spot on his hand. He could feel tears prickling his eyes. Ridiculous. He didn’t want to cry, but this was a little overwhelming. “What about your mom?” he choked out. 

Owain swallowed. “She’s here. In the flesh!” Even as he said them, the words did not seem convinced of their existence. 

“It’s not the same.” 

“No. You’re right. But it does soften the blow. Besides, I still have a piece of her staff that I broke off when she… Between the two items, the shard is worth only its memories. The ring had a 10 carat diamond in it, Inigo.” 

“I understand that, but there had to be other things we could sell.” 

Owain twisted his hand in Ingio’s so that he was returning the hold and squeezed. Inigo met his eyes. “In our real time, we scavenged for the things we needed. There was no civilizaion, no rules, just an abandoned skeleton of a world we picked clean. But this world isn’t like that yet. To preserve it, we also have to preserve commerce and trade. We have to ensure that there is financial stability when we are gone. We have a chance to be real members of society and I wanted to seize my opportunity.” 

Owain’s gaze was hot. It bore through Inigo’s soul. He had to look away and chose to focus on the empty finger again. An urge overtook him and he did not spend any effort to evaluate if was logical. He lifted Owain’s hand, entwined his own within it, and kissed the spot where the ring had been. 

Time slowed down and Inigo had a chance to wish it would just stop completely. Stop in this moment where his lips were against Owain’s skin. Stop before he had to face the embarrassment ahead. Stop with Owain’s face turning an adorable shade of red. 

“Uh,” Owain said first. Inigo did not let him finish. 

“Uh, haha, whoops.” He dropped Owain’s hand and stood from the crate. “Sorry, buddy. I just, I guess I’ve been so pent up lately not being able to treat the… the ladies…” 

The excuse started to die on Inigo’s lips when Owain’s eyes met his. He was usually so easy to read. Almost too easy to read. But not in that instant. His expression was blank. 

He stood from the crate as well and placed a paper sword in Inigo’s palm. Then he grinned, finally. A simple, sweet tell of emotion. Inigo almost sagged with relief. At least he wasn’t mad. 

“Maybe tea isn’t in the cards, but if you want to burn some of that excess energy in a battle of paper they will surely write songs about, you know where to find me.” 

Then Owain left. Inigo watched him go and when he was out of sight, he plopped back down on the crate. He turned the sword over in his hands for quite some time, admiring the craftsmanship of the folds, waiting for his heart to settle down. 

III. Three times ‘cause you waited your whole life

There was just enough light coming in through the window that Inigo could make out the words on the page. It was probably bad for his eyes to squint while he read, but it was better than the risk lighting a candle would bring with it. He did not want to wake the rhythmically breathing pillow beneath him. 

Inigo was not sure if Owain knew he had read almost all of the books he kept next to his bed. He couldn’t help it if he had mild insomnia. But the books helped. And, as a bonus, when Owain got excited and talked about the exciting stories he read about, Inigo could follow his rambling pretty easily. Sometimes he knew a twist before even Owain did, though he always managed to keep his mouth shut. It was a secret thrill of his. 

As far as accidents went, dating Owain had to be the best one Inigo had only ever dared to dream about. It had been a year since the end of the war against the Fell Dragon, Grima. After surviving that last battle, Owain had immediately reintroduced his invitation to tea and Inigo had been too overjoyed to supply anything but affirmatives. Two months went by before Owain casually referred to Inigo as his boyfriend in conversation and Inigo had only a brief crisis about it. He had been pining after Owain forever, after all, and to skip that awkward confession stage that he was notoriously bad at anyway had been a relief. 

Ylisse was still healing a year later. The war had been long and gruelling in more ways than one. Most of the orphan’s parents had given birth to their true children that belonged in this timeline. Owain and Inigo had decided that what was best for the babies was for them to move out of town. Their parents had objected, but then they weren’t children anymore and the actual children deserved a proper upbringing, not one lived in the shadows of their damaged doppelgangers. So Owain had relinquished any official title he held in the royal family and the two of them bought a cottage on the distant fringes of Ylisse. They could visit for holidays still, but they didn’t need to hover. 

The cottage was modest and relatively secluded. Inigo loved it. He loved having Owain all to himself, exploring their relationship without the stress of war or politics. He loved working for a living, earning his place in society. He loved the prospective future ahead of them. 

The only unfortunate thing about the routine domesticity of their lives was that Inigo had burned through most of the fiction and had recently resorted to reading Owain’s personal journals. The stack of journals was almost as high as the stack of books. He was working his way through a high adventure story Owain appeared to have written years ago when he made an incredible discovery. 

He turned a page and something was knocked loose. Inigo’s first instinct was to panic - he had busted Owain’s book, it was very old and delicate and he could have been more careful - but then he saw what it was that had fallen out. And it was not page 207 of ‘The Manual of Justice Volume 5: Owain Dark, Scion of Legends’ Harrowing Triumphs (Extended)’. It was a small origami ring. 

The folding was so delicate and intricate. Inigo turned it over in his palm trying to trace how Owain had done it. As he traveled, he found a small inscription on the inside. “Inigo of the Indigo Skies” it read. His heart fluttered in his chest. 

The pillow under him took a sharp breath of air and released it in a long, sleepy moan. “Morning,” Owain mumbled, his voice hoarse as he blinked awake. 

“Good morning,” Inigo said a little more cheerily. He sat up so that he wasn’t crushing Owain anymore, but the ring stayed in his hands as he fiddled with it. 

With a stretch and a big yawn, Owain sat up as well. He casually replaced the book Inigo had abandoned on his chest back onto the nightstand. He most likely didn’t even notice what he’d done or what it implied. But he did, with a sudden startle, notice was Inigo was playing with. 

“Where did you get that?” 

“Found it,” Inigo said, smirking as if the devil possessed him. “When did you make this?” 

Inigo relished in the embarrassed expression that warmed Owain’s features. It was quite a way to wake up, he was sure. “Uh… A long time ago… Actually…” 

“In the past during the war? Or in the future when we were kids?” 

Inigo was teasing him, but his fun could only last so long. Owain was too honest and forthright for his own good. “During the war. Right after I sold my mother’s ring, actually.” 

Inigo’s jesting smirk dropped. “Oh,” he said in the tone he always used when any of the thirteen orphans talked of their real parents. But then his eyes fell to the ring in his hands he frowned. “Wait, why is my name on it then?” 

“Do you not remember?” 

Inigo’s frown deepened. Owain sighed. 

“I struggled when I sold that ring because it belonged to my mother, that’s true. But there was another reason to mourn its los. When I sold it, I broke a promise to you.” 

“Huh?” 

“Before we travelled through time, you once expressed to me how much you loved my mother’s ring. How beautiful it was. I promised that if you proved to me that you wanted it, that I would give it to you… Of course, at the time you were drunk and I don’t think you realized what was going on. But since then, since the war, you have spent every day proving to me that what we have is special. That night when we found that wine cellar, I decided that one day I would use that ring to propose to you.” 

Inigo’s stomach lurched as if he was jumping off some high rocks into a lake far below, or he was on wyvern back and rapidly descending. He looked back down at the ring in his hand and casually, quickly, slipped it on his ring finger. 

“I’m saving up,” Owain went on, oblivious. “I”ll buy that ring back some day, so until then-” 

“You can propose to me now,” Inigo interjected. 

“What?” 

Inigo held up his hand to show off the paper ring. “It’s a perfect fit. And I like it a lot. So just propose to me now. This ring will do.” 

“Inigo, I-” 

“Yes,” Inigo said, smiling big. “Yes, I will marry you, Owain. I don’t need a fancy ring. I only need this. You. Here. With me. Now and forever.” 

Owain sputtered, but Inigo did not give him a chance to produce a coherent sentence. He pushed Owain back onto the bed and straddled his lap. Fortunately, Owain was quick on the uptake and just before Inigo’s lips met his, he brought his hands up to wind through Inigo’s hair. 

They spent the day like that, blissfully engaged in each other’s embrace. And Inigo refused to take off the paper ring. He knew it couldn’t last forever, of course. Life was unpredictable and paper was fragile. But the physical ring was not what was important. Whatever the future held - happiness, trials, wars and all - Inigo would stay by Owain’s side. That was all he needed.


End file.
